


A Bad Dream

by McGoogleheim



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Bad Dreams, Brotherly Affection, Distressing imagery, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insomniac Leo, Nightmares, not shipping!, wholesome content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28104768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McGoogleheim/pseuds/McGoogleheim
Summary: Takes place after 'Donnie's Gifts'. Mikey has a nightmare about his second favorite brother; comforting ensues. (Ft. Leo)
Relationships: Donatello & Michelangelo (TMNT)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 86





	A Bad Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing fancy! I just wanted to play around with this cute idea I had in my head :) 
> 
> -This is not a shipping drabble :U ! Just some wholesome brotherly comforting!!-

Mikey awoke with a cry, panting as he clutched his blanket close to his chest. He steadied his hammock, glancing about his room while his heart pounded loudly in his ears.

It was a bad dream - no, a nightmare. Donnie was in trouble, cornered by Meat Sweats, who wanted nothing more than to eat him, and Mikey was powerless to save him. No matter how hard he swung his kusari-fundo, it was never enough to strike the hulking mutant. Nor could he pull Donnie to safety with his unruly weapon, for every attempt to do so ended in failure.

Even Mikey's  _ razzmatazz _ proved more of a hindrance than a help. His coordinated jumps and bounces (if one could call them that) landed him farther away from Donnie, much to Mikey's dismay. And when the Boxshell tried calling out for Raph and Leo, nobody answered him; his desperate pleas remained trapped in his throat.

Instead, Mikey had to listen to Meat Sweats' maniacal laughter as he forced Donnie into a giant cauldron that bubbled and splattered as it swallowed his brother whole.

That was when Mikey woke up, disturbed by the frightful imagery that felt all too real for his liking. He wiped the tears that formed within the corners of his eyes and decided that he needed to see Donnie. He needed to know his brother was safe:  ** now ** . 

Mikey slipped out of his hammock, casting his blanket about him as a makeshift cloak. He tiptoed out of his room, quietly made his way across the atrium, and crept inside Donnie's room. How the Softshell was able to sleep through the humming of his computers and gadgets was beyond Mikey. He supposed something was comforting about it - like some form of white noise. It did wonders masking his footsteps as he climbed the ladder to Donnie's bed. 

Mikey perched himself upon the top rung and watched Donnie snore into his pillow: fast asleep. Gently, he shook his brother by the shoulder, " _ Psst! Don. Donnie. Donald! _ " He whispered urgently into Donnie's ear, who snorted awake with a groan. 

" _ Huh? _ " Donnie rubbed the sleep from his eyes, squinting at the bleary silhouette at his bedside, " _ Mikey? _ "

"I had a dream Meat Sweats ate you."

"...  _ how quaint,"  _ Donnie yawned. He tried rolling over, but was stopped by Mikey's hand. A drowsy scowl crossed his face, “ _Yes?_ ”

"Could I stay here for a little while?" Mikey asked softly, "Please?"

"Mikey," Donnie started firmly, "As you can  _ clearly see _ , Meat Sweats has, in fact,  _ not _ eaten me. You've  _ obviously _ had a nightmare, brought on by yesterday's encounter with that  _ piggish brute  _ and his attempt to have me for dinner. You see, the stress from that situation has stimulated your medial prefrontal cortex to-"

" _ Please?"  _ Mikey begged, batting his puppy-dog eyes at Donnie. 

Donnie fought against the sad twinkle in Mikey's eyes but it was no use; his brother's pouting was just  _ that powerful _ .

" _ Fine _ ," Donnie conceded, "But just so we're clear, you're getting  _ way _ too old for this, Angelo." He shuffled over, taken aback by how quickly Mikey climbed into his bed and clung to him.

Donnie went rigid. He was tempted to shove Mikey off of him until he took the time to  _ really _ _ study _ how distraught his sibling appeared. Mikey had pressed himself against Donnie's chest, his arms somehow finding a way to loop around the nape of his neck. And despite being in his brother's presence, Mikey couldn't help but tremble, still tense from his ordeal.

"... it was that bad, huh?" Donnie asked quietly.

Mikey whimpered in response, surprised when Donnie held him, murmuring a "There, there" under his breath while he stroked the curve of his shell. The gesture was so soft and unlike Donnie that he couldn’t help but smile. He felt himself calming down, the fragments of his nightmare becoming nothing more than an unpleasant thought in the back of his mind.

"Thanks, Dee." Mikey sighed contently, his eyelids heavy with sleep. "I'm glad Meat Sweats didn't eat you." 

"Likewise, Michael," Donnie mumbled muzzily. Just then, his tone became serious, "Now then,  _ let us never speak of this moment again _ . I'll never hear the end of it from anyone, _especially_ from Leo."

" _ Mmhm _ ..."

"I'm going to require verbal confirmation of our agreement... Mikey?  _ Michelangelo _ ?" Donnie peered down at Mikey, who had drifted off to sleep, his smaller frame curled close. 

Donnie shook his head, amused at how little it took to quell his brother's fears. 

Knowing that it would take a while to fall back asleep, Donnie propped himself up against his pillow and mindlessly scrolled the news feed on his phone. He'd watch over Mikey until the Boxshell's steady breathing eventually lulled Donnie back to sleep, blissfully unaware of Leo's presence by the curved doorway.

On nights when Leo was unable to fall asleep, the Slider would fix himself up a cup of cocoa and check in on his brothers, ensuring that everyone was present and accounted for. When Leo came across Mikey's empty hammock, he had assumed his little brother snuck out of the lair to DJ somewhere (it wouldn't have been the first time). Initially, he came into Donnie's room to get permission to access the security cameras. 

It was a good thing Leo thought to check in with Donnie before rousing the fam for a late-night search party.

Smirking, Leo sipped lightly from his mug as he watched Donnie and Mikey settle against each other. It reminded Leo of the old days when they were tots and how they'd sleep in a pile together whenever one of them was scared or lonely. 

_ I guess some things never change,  _ Leo thought warmly. He carefully took the time to smooth the blankets over Mikey and Donnie's bodies, tucking them in single-handedly. He then took Donnie's phone out from his hand and placed it on the desk below, plugging it into its charger.

Of course, what kind of older brother would Leo be if he  _ didn't _ snap a photo with his _own_ phone of his brothers nestled together? Whether he'd use the snapshot as blackmail or a charming family memory for the scrapbooks was to be determined...

" _ Sweet dreams, mis hermanos~ _ " Leo grinned, heading back to his room to catch up on his own Z's. " _ Don't let the silverfish bite~! _ "


End file.
